Money Matters

In this blog I am sending a message to all coders, app and online game creators and website designers. I have been working with some students in locally developed high school math classes and I have found that there is a shortage of good engaging, interactive math games for students working at this level. The focus for locally developed classes aside from preparing them for the grade 11 workplace course is to develop the mathematical skills that can transfer to crucial life skills. The most important of these skills is financial literacy which even the Canadian government has recognized as an important aspect of education we need to be focusing on. I was recently teaching a grade 10 student who wanted to develop her money skills. The first and obvious strategy I would suggest to all teachers is to use a cash register, yes the old fashion ones we played shop with in kindergarten. The best way for students to understand the value of money and spending is to physically practice. During our study sessions, my student and I would work through class homework sheets and solve written financial problems by adding and subtracting values manually and drawing pictures. Then we would re-do the problems but this time completely orally and using the cash registers just like in a store. The first few times there was definitely a disconnect between the idea of written monetary values and having the physical dollar amount in their hands but with practice it was a seamless transition between paper and practice. This is a great way of learning but it cannot be the only way. I found after a while the students were tired of using money the same way for every question. I tried to incorporate some practice using technology but getting to the root of my problem, the online games I found sucked! All the free online games were too simple, they repeated the questions, and they were asking students to perform the same type of transactions. Then I would switch between games to find different problems but most online money games showing students the coins and bills are mostly American. Then looking into apps and computer game, the best ones were super expensive and others were hard to find. I know school boards do have licensing for some excellent games but how does this help the parent at home or in the summer when they want to practice math skills with their child without breaking the bank. Yes if you search there are good worksheets and activities available online to engage students but for those who are more inclined to practice with online games we are still waiting for a great Canadian invention. One final note to add for parents, take your kids to the store with you, not just to pick out what they like and then help you with the grocery bags. Get your children to shop with you, look at flyers, compare prices, write a list go to the store and do the math before you reach the checkout.